Canadian Tamils’ Chamber of Commerce presented him with “The Best Entrepreneur of the Year” award in 2013.  He has led Arthur Fire Protection services, a leading organization in the fire protection business for the past 9 years, overseeing 18 employees.

Ravi Kanagasabey and his teams have been helping companies and individuals protect themselves and their belongings by giving advice on fire and safety procedures over the past 20 years.  In addition, he has been contributing to the community along the way.  Here are some of the lessons he learned from his sporting success:

Inspire with action.

Consistently motivate your team with words and action.  Give them opportunities to be courageous and instill in them a sense of possibility.  If you do it consistently, they will follow. When I started Arthur Fire Protection, to my surprise, I had a handful of technicians who followed me from my previous job to support me. They felt I had protected them at all times and helped them become successful in their job as a technician.  As a result, they believed in my abilities to lead them on a successful path.

Always do the right thing.

Doing the right thing is not defined by a single act, but by a series of consistent actions that all reinforce this principle. It is important to act with honesty and integrity at all times so that you can build trust with your team.  Doing what is right by your team helps to build a stronger culture, one in which there is trust and willingness to go the extra mile. This sometimes costs in a monetary sense, but it builds reputation equity and gives employees confidence that their leader can be trusted.

When I started in the fire protection business, I provided opportunities to a handful of people in our community who did not have a path during troubled times. It was risky to hire individuals who did not have the skills or the knowledge, but I knew if I provided them an opportunity, they may change their attitude towards their own life. Today, these men from our community are the back bone of my company.

Learn to bounce back.   

Learn to accept where you are. Face your fears and accept the fact that where you are in life is the first step towards moving on.  Always learn something from every situation as it will show you what works and what does not so that you can avoid doing things that do not work well next time.

I faced a myriad of health and business challenges along the way, but I realized there are situations that I do not have control over and some I do. The future of my business was under my control so with the support of my family and friends, I was able to pull through during the most challenging times.

Know your weaknesses as well as your strengths.

Explore yourself and know who you are.  This is important so that you can position to be successful in any given situation.  If you fail to know yourself well, you miss opportunities for self-improvement.  I hire guys who are smarter than me in areas that I am weak in. This allows me to focus on doing what I am good at and delegating tasks that are not my forte.